Managing Wildfires Using A Centuries-Old Indigenous Practice

Science Friday

In late September, firefighters in flame-resistant Nomex were strung out along a fireline. It ran midslope through a pine and hardwood forest above the Klamath River and the small northern California town of Orleans.

Several members of the Karuk tribe were laying down strands of fire with drip torches.

Aja Conrad, who runs the tribal natural resource department’s environmental education field institute, was the firing boss trainee. She kept a close eye as the strips burned together and smoke filled the air.

“Can you just keep an eye on that and maybe not put too much fire below it?” she told one of her burners.

“Copy that.”

Read the rest of this article on sciencefriday.com.

Transcript for this radio story will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.

Subscribe to this podcast. Plus, to stay updated on all things science, sign up for Science Friday's newsletters.